title: Assessing emergency nurses' geriatric knowledge and perceptions of their geriatric care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persons aged 65 years or older have up to a 45% increased functional dependence and a 10% mortality rate within the first 3 months after being discharged from the emergency department. It has been demonstrated that when elderly individuals are cared for by nurses with specialized training in geriatrics, their outcomes improve. However, few registered nurses have this specialized training. This study was designed to conduct a needs assessment of an emergency department concerning registered nurses' knowledge and self-assessment of geriatric emergency care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A quantitative, descriptive study utilizing a survey tool was conducted at a large, acute-care teaching hospital in northern California during a 2-week period. The questionnaire consisted of 2 separate sections, a knowledge section with 15 questions and 16 self-evaluated practice assessment questions utilizing a Likert scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two emergency nurses participated in the study. The knowledge section scores ranged from 4 to 12. The mean score was 8.53 (SD ± 1.866). More than 80% of the participants rate themselves as either "very good" or "good" in the self-assessment section in 13 of the 16 categories. No participants rated themselves as "very poor" in any category.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high ratings in the self-assessment section demonstrate a perception among the sample of being very capable in geriatric care. In contrast, the knowledge section revealed low scores throughout. This study revealed a clear lack of consistency between the nurses' knowledge about geriatric care and their perception of their ability to provide this care.
authors.affiliation: mergency Department Staff Nurse II, Kaiser Permanente, Fremont, CA, USA. cdjones76@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roethler
authors.forename: Toby
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: Virgil
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parsons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D004521:Educational Measurement; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000193:education*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000193:education*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education*; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires